


The Joys of Co-Parenting

by MurderouslyAdorkable



Series: Swan Queen Week Summer 2015 [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Swan Queen Week Summer 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 13:19:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4393421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurderouslyAdorkable/pseuds/MurderouslyAdorkable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Swan Queen Week 2015, Day Four: Mistaken for a Couple </p><p>Set in an ambiguous point in Season Five where Emma isn’t the Dark One anymore. Emma's trying regain her bearings while trying to be there for her son, who suggested they get out Storybrooke and go to the zoo, where they are promptly mistaken for a married couple. Emma gets embarrassed and Regina decides to have a little fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Joys of Co-Parenting

**Author's Note:**

> I know SwanQueen is totally over. But I started this and I feel like I need to finish it out anyway. I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Disclaimer: We don't own anything here. It's all Disney, ABC, and the creators of this show that I (cutelikemurder of the Fuzzy Cheese Team) can't stop watching.

“Did you have to buy him the _**whole** _ gift shop?”

 

Regina didn't know why but it tickled her to get under Emma's skin. She was just so reactionary. It was one of the things she admired about the Savior; actually; that Emma wore her heart of her sleeve. Where Regina was taught her emotions were a weakness, Emma was relied on hers to give her strength.

 

Though it was clear that in this heat, even the Savior's patience was wearing thin. Still, other then grumbling a few complaints, Emma never once suggested they should go. And that was something that Regina could respect. Never let it be said that Emma didn't have Henry's best interests at heart.

 

“Miss Swan, our son has had a trying few years,” Regina said as they watch Henry, pressing his face against the glass of the Orangutan exhibit. “He deserves to be spoil a bit, don't you agree?”

 

Emma was standing next to her, leather jacket in one hand, a large bag of souvenirs in the other. Her cheeks and bare shoulders were pink and sunburnt. Which served the Savior right for refusing the sunscreen when Regina offered it before she practically forced Henry to apply some on the sunblock. It appeared that Emma had Henry's tolerance for sun exposure. And now she was paying the price.

 

Not that Regina wasn't suffering. Her feet hurt; she blamed the heel for that. And perhaps a two piece pants suit wasn't the best choice in outfits for their family trip either. Especially in this heat.

 

The sun beat down on them but they both did their best not to complain. Well, Regina did. Emma on the other hand did her best not to complain in front of Henry.

 

“We have to sit after this,” Emma groaned. “This kid is like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going.”

 

“You should have seen him when he was a toddler,” Regina said.

 

“Terrible twos?” Emma asked.

 

Regina nodded. “Like you wouldn't believe.”

 

Henry was a sweet boy but precocious. He was willful with a strong desire for independence. Regina should have wondered about his parentage then but to be honest she was just overjoyed to have someone to share in her happiness. Yes, that happiness had ultimately been proven false. But the home she created for Henry remained. Emma might be the Savior. But Henry was Regina's redemption. Which is why a few too many cheaply manufactured trinkets was nothing to a woman that would give her son the world just to see him smile.

 

Emma's stomach rumbled, audibly and her already pink cheeks, flushed a deeper red. “I didn't eat anything today.”

 

Regina's brow furrowed at her words. “Emma...”

 

“I know. I know,” she began. “I need to start taking care of myself. And I'll tell you want, as a show of good faith, I'm gonna grab a corn dog with the kid.”

 

The former Evil Queen's frown deepened. “Having a corn dog isn't taking care of yourself.”

 

“Corn dogs are delicious,” Emma countered.

 

Regina scoff. “Do you consume anything that's not made of chocolate or deep fried?”

 

Emma's quirked in a slight grin. Then she shrugged. “Sometimes I have a beer.”

 

Regina just shook her head. Emma ate like a 12 year old boy. Just grease and empty calories. She shuttered to think of how Emma and Henry survived for that year they were in New York. Was it just countless nights of fatty take-out and sugar masquerading as a drink?

 

“Emma, I'd prefer if we set a healthier example for our son,” Regina told her.

 

Emma groaned. “One corn dog isn't going to kill him, Regina.”

 

“It might,” Regina fired back. “Do you know what corn dogs are made of?”

 

“Questionable meat product plus corn batter,” Emma explained. “What's not to love about that? If you had it your way, all the kid would eat is leaves and nuts.”

 

“Emma Swan,” Regina chided. “A salad is a perfectly suitable meal.”

 

“A salad is just roughage, Regina. Leaves with drizzled oil on top,” Emma said. “Henry's a kid. It should be cake, and ice cream, and cotton candy... and friggin' corn dogs.”

 

Regina would have countered but at that exact moment an elderly woman approached them. She had a kind disposition to her, a certain type of gentleness that Regina was unfamiliar with. She was holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun, and a loosing fitting sundress. Her skin was leathery, with deep set wrinkles and her hair was stark white, thinning on top. She had a small of cadre of children of various ages orbiting around her. Some were engrossed in the orangutans. Others, the older ones, were standing off to the side playing with their phones trying to look as bored as possible.

 

The elderly woman smiled, nodding her head in greeting. Regina mirrored her, albeit cautiously. But it was Emma that extended her hand and bid the old woman a good afternoon.

 

“Is that your boy?” she asked Emma.

 

The Savior nodded. “Yes. That's Henry.”

 

“My first husband's name was Henry,” the woman told her. “A strong man with a kind heart. Is your little boy like that?”

 

Emma's expression was pensive. And Regina knew there had to be things that Henry did that reminded her of Neal. Because there were things that Henry did that reminded Regina of Emma everyday. Even before she knew who his mother was. And where Regina could smile, thankful that Henry had that connection with his family, Emma had to wonder what Henry's life would have been like if Neal had lived.

 

“I'd like to think so,” the Savior replied.

 

“He seems like a good kid,” the old woman noted, drawing their attention to Henry as he moved back to make room for the younger children. “You did good with him. You and your wife must be very proud.”

 

_Excuse me? Wife?_

 

The question died in Regina's throat when she saw Emma's reaction. The Savior face flushed crimson and her eyes widened with shock. She glanced at Regina, silently pleading for help, but only found the former Evil Queen smirking back at her. A befuddled savior was an entertaining savior. And as it happened it was one of Regina's favorite things to witness. There was just something novel about seeing one of the Charmings drowning in a sea of their own embarrassment.

 

“Oh! Um... uh...” Emma stammered. “We're... we're not... um... She's not... I'm not...”

 

Regina Mills could have straightened things out. She could have calmly and succinctly articulated exactly what their relationship was. That they were in fact not marriage or even a couple in the traditional sense. She could have explained that Emma was Henry's birthmother and after finding her they decided that was best for Henry was to have both of them in his life. Regina Mills could have done all of those things.

 

But she didn't.

 

Instead, she goes to Emma's side, linking arms with her and beams at the old woman. “What Emma means to say is that we felt it best not to marry until our partnership could be recognized in all 50 states. Now that it is, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she pops the question. It means a lot to our son that his mothers get their happily ever after.”

 

It took everything not to burst into laughter. Because after all it was funnier if the old woman bought it. And she did. She even teared up toward the end. “That's beautiful. You two... well that sounds like a modern day fairy tale if I ever heard it. Bless your hearts.”

 

“Thank you, ma'am,” Regina replied.

 

The old woman nodded before she called her army of grandchildren away. It wasn't until she was out of sight and earshot that Regina started to chuckle. She only laughed harder when Emma snatched her arm away.

 

“What the hell, Regina?” Emma asked, face still bright red. Though that could be the sunburn still setting in.

 

“Would you have rather me told her the truth?” Regina countered.

 

Emma sighed. “No. But a simple 'No, we're not married,' would have been enough. Seriously, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at that. “Is the thought of being married to me really that terrible, Miss Swan?”

 

Again Emma became flustered. She tried to form words but couldn't get pass making vowel sounds. Only when Regina chuckled did Emma understand that she was joking.

 

“That's mean.” Emma pointed a finger at her. “You're mean.”

 

“Yes, I am,” Regina affirmed.

 

“Are you guys fighting?” Henry's voice rolled over their conversation and both women turned toward their sun.

 

Though it was Regina that answered him. “No. We were simply working out plans for lunch.”

 

“Cool,” Henry replied. “I was getting kinda hungry. Maybe we could stop by that corn dog stand we walked by earlier.”

 

Emma shot a pointed look at Regina, a victorious glint in her eyes. “Yeah, kid. Sounds good to me. Then maybe we can forge for your mom and get her some leaves.”

 

Henry rolled his eyes. “Mom, it's called a salad.”

 

“Is it?” Emma jested. “I had no idea.”

 

“Miss Swan somehow that doesn't surprise me at all,” Regina teased.

 

Emma just rolled her eyes. “Forget it. I changed my mind. Henry, we're getting your mom a corn dog. Today she's gonna eat like a peasant.”

 

“I most certainly will not!”

 

And the argument continued until they reached the food court, where Emma surprisingly had a salad as well.

 

“Mom, I thought you wanted a corn dog,” Henry noted.

 

Emma shrugged, looking over at Regina. “I did. But I dunno. I guess the idea of having a salad sorta grew on me.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me and the other writers of Fuzzy Cheese Productions at fuzzycheeseproductions on tumblr. You can see our other fan works and some of our original stuff.


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